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Joe Thambu Sensei, Yoshinkan Aikido 7th dan, will be visiting the Western Region of the US from Australia for a two-day seminar in Los Angeles, California, on November 8th and 9th (Sat & Sun), 2008.

Thambu Sensei began training in Aikido at eleven years old, and was later awarded his 5th dan from Yoshinkan Aikido founder Shioda Gozo directly. He has also had the opportunity to train with renowned instructors such as Shinkendo Founder Obata Toshishiro Kaiso, Nariyama Tetsuro Shihan, and the late Donn Draeger.

Thambu Sensei is known for his smooth but effective techniques. The training will consist of two 8 hour days of training, with the last half of the second day (Sunday) including his "Restraining & Removal" seminar designed for professionals.

We will only be hosting him on the West Coast for this two day seminar, so those interested are strongly encouraged to pre-register (sorry for the late notice). The seminar will also be attended by several higher ranked Aikido instructors as well. As such, we are looking more towards quality of instruction rather as opposed to large number of participants. This event will sell out, so please get back to us ASAP.

An announcement flyer and registration form can be downloaded (.pdf) from:

Sounds like an excellent time Nathan. Any chance he's coming to the East coast?

Best,
Ron

Ron,

He will be giving a clinic in Chicago November 14 to 16th. for more information go to www.foxvalleyaikido.com . I unfortunately will not be able to attend (although it sounds like a great seminar) as I will be in the air returning from my trip to Japan while the seminar is being held

Anyone worried about budget problems would be advised to contact other participants and look into sharing a room. Feel free to use this thread to request room mates, or contact us through the email link provided on the web page and we'll distribute name lists of others interested in sharing a room.

Shioda Kancho was recently visiting Thambu Sensei in Melbourne, Australia, and issued the the title of Shihan to him during his stay. While this is a huge achievement for anyone, it is all the more significant in that Thambu Shihan is now the first non-Japanese to be given this title.

I have seen some photos of Joe Sensei's trip to the US and it looks like everyone had a great time. Thank you to everyone who looked after Joe Sensei and made him feel extremely welcome!

Regarding the above few posts, Yasuhisa Shioda Kancho presented Joe Thambu Shihan with his Shihan certificate and presented it as "the first Shihan title to be awarded to a non-Japanese".

To clarify, Amos Parker Shihan was indeed the first non-Japanese to be awarded the title of Shihan but Joe Thambu Shihan's title was the first to be awarded to a non-Japanese by hombu dojo, which was what Yasuhisa Shioda Kancho was referring to on the presentation of his certificate, the 26th Shihan certificate to be presented by the Hombu dojo.